Prized guitar safe after apparent tornado hits coastal RV park

By Sloane Heffernan, WRAL anchor/reporter, & Deborah Strange, WRAL digital journalist

Atlantic Beach, N.C. — Crystal Coast took a beating as Hurricane Dorian moved up North Carolina on Thursday and Friday.

At Atlantic Beach, winds tore a roof off a hotel building like a tin can, and bits and pieces covered the lawn.

In Emerald Isle, an apparent tornado threw John Barker’s RV more than 30 yards.

The RV was destroyed.

But Barker, of Lillington, found a guitar in perfect shape.

“It’s for my granddaughter, and it hung right outside that washer and dryer in the bedroom,” Barker said.

“It actually made it,” he said. “How about that? I just don’t believe that.”

He strummed the strings.

“It’s a little out of tune,” he said.

The RV was a vacation spot for he and his family. Barker was grateful no one was hurt or killed in the apparent twister, he said.

See all Hurricane Dorian coverage.